Documented Cherokee Lineage
"Susannah" Sonicooie (Cordery) Reservation Roll, 1817 Eastern Cherokee
Sarah Cordery (Rogers) [m. John Rogers, Jr., Reservation Roll 1817, Henderson Roll, 1835] Eastern Cherokees
Ann Chappell Rogers (Lenoir) Siler Roll, 1851; Chapman Roll, 1852; Hester Roll, 1883; Dawes Roll, 1900 Eastern Cherokee, migrated to Indian Territory (later Oklahoma)
Emma Elizabeth Lenoir (Roberts) Hester Roll, 1883 Eastern Cherokee
Estelle Corinne Roberts (Wiggins) Guion Miller Roll, 1909 Eastern Cherokee
Aileen Wiggins (Jackson) (Farrell) Cherokee descendant, Swain County, N.C. (Unregistered)
Walter Coburn Jackson Cherokee descendant, Swain County, N.C. (Unregistered)
Bryan Douglas Jackson, First Families of the Cherokee Nation, Cherokee Community of Puget Sound, Mt. Hood Cherokees
ROGERS FAMILY The John Rogers, Jr. family was prominent in the old Cherokee Nation. John and his wife, Sarah, raised twelve children, and a number of them played important roles in Cherokee Nation and United States history. The family is the focus of my novella, Chattahoochee Rain. The Rogers house still stands today in Johns Creek, Georgia, near the Chattahoochee River. The famous early twentieth century humorist and Cherokee Nation citizen, Will Rogers, an extended family member, visited the home in his travels. The Rogers family can be found on page 391 of Emmet Starr’s History of the Cherokee Indians.
TSALI In addition to my Cherokee ancestors, I also had ancestors who were not Cherokee but great supporters of the Cherokees. Another great, great, great-grandfather, Abraham Wiggins, Jr., and his wife, Margaret, fed their Cherokee friend, Tsali (Sol-lee, known to the whites as “Charley”) his last meal before his execution. Tsali became known as a famous Cherokee martyr and a version of his story is told to this day in annual summer outdoor drama, “Unto These Hills,” in Cherokee, North Carolina. I am currently working on a story about Tsali and my Wiggins ancestors during the Cherokee Trail of Tears. Stay tuned!
This page is dedicated in loving memory of my friend, Don L. Shadburn (1939-2015)
My great, great, great aunt, Mary Rogers McNair, traveled the Cherokee Trail of Tears with her family in the Bell Detachment. My grandmother first told me about Mary when I was a teen. I later verified the story through research. The Trail of Tears is one of the most tragic events in Cherokee and United States history. You can read about it here.
